Consumer Products Practice Group

Our Practice Group is sensitive and aware of the navigational challenges in this industry. Having a great product or an appealing price is no longer enough to ensure ongoing success. Knowing a small group of loyal customers can drive a disproportionate share of sales, brands live and die on their ability to build and sustain the relationship with their target customers. Companies focused on branded consumer products face a myriad of challenges in maintaining that relationship from two perspectives: technology and infrastructure.

Technology

Digital transformation. Consumers expect a holistic and unified experience with the products they value. The combination of CRM technology and machine data provides powerful capabilities to capture, understand, and use unified customer data to deliver personalized marketing messages.

Social media. Consumers reward brands for their authenticity. In our frequently polarized world, consumers increasingly want to know where their brands stand on key issues and expect their social media presence and responsibility initiatives to align with the brand promise.

Marketing ROI. With marketing dollars always at a premium, the effective use of technology to measure the ROI on digital marketing campaigns can be a competitive advantage.

Infrastructure

Innovation. The pace and quality of innovation need to align with evolving consumer expectations. Companies must master the ability to respond quickly to market trends and consumer needs while evaluating the growing opportunity for product customization.

Supply Chain. A cost-effective, scalable supply chain, from manufacturing through distribution, is essential to get products where they need to be, when they need to be there, and at a profitable price. Maintaining a manageable SKU count is essential to reducing complexity.

Whether you are an early stage or mature company, you can benefit from working with seasoned finance professionals with deep appreciation for the character of your industry and the best ways to produce financial returns and sustainability.

Our practice group has the resources to quickly respond to any challenge. Based on our experience, we can quickly assess the challenges, develop solutions and provide the resources to execute them. The consulting CFO can work alone or gather a team to execute a short-term crucial project.

Who We Serve

Early stage companies

Branded consumer product companies start with the idea of creating something new and cool that will resonate strongly with consumers. Enormous work is put into product design, branding, packaging and developing the marketing strategy to reach the consumer, all while simultaneously building the team. These critically important activities often take priority over other issues that need to be addressed but you lack the time, staff or expertise to focus on them. This is where CFOs2GO supports you. We help you evaluate and build the financial infrastructure needed to measure and understand your cash needs, capital requirements, product pricing alternatives, and profitability levers.

Established small and mid-sized businesses

Established businesses may find the financial management practices that worked for them in the past have failed to keep pace with where the company’s headed. Whether it is the inability to measure the return on marketing programs, manage the shift in channel dynamics as more consumer purchases move online, or finding the optimal inventory management strategy, the company’s leaders know there’s more to be done before they can get to the next level. We can provide the insight and resources to ensure you have the financial infrastructure needed help the company achieve its goals.

Rapidly growing companies

Rapid growth can be an exhilarating experience as an increasing number of consumers become aware of and buy the company’s products, validating the original product vision. Keeping the train on the tracks as the speed accelerates particularly requires effective management of the entire supply chain and a financial infrastructure that allows you to focus on critical metrics. Whether you need to upgrade finance team members, move to a more robust accounting and/or management reporting system, plan for future capital requirements, or improve the way you tell your “financial story” to the Board, banking partners or investors, CFOs2GO can deliver the financial support you need to thrive during this exciting period.

Selected Capabilities

Assessment of and improvements to accounting, budgeting, and forecasting processes and systems

Review and development of management reporting packages for internal and external use (lenders, investors, bankers, etc.)

Developing the financial story for use with lenders, bankers, investors, boards, etc.

Analytical review and development of business plans and multi-year strategic plans

Develop key performance indicators and the dashboards and systems needed to track them

Develop financial models for evaluating projects for use internally and with BOD
Product pricing and competitive analyses

Rolling forecasts for revenue and other P&L, BS items and cash flow

Assessment of profitability impact and business model implications as more purchases move from in-store to online